Hot Tub Discussions
by Solora Goldsun
Summary: After a long, grueling mission, all Ruby wants to do is relax with her new boyfriends and girlfriends. Thankfully, Team JNPR has a plan to thoroughly spoil her during her visit. (House Hunting AU. Sequel to "Wilted Rose." Commission for miner249er.)


**Greetings, friends! We are back with another commission for miner249er. People who were hoping for more House Hunting AU Juniper Rose fluff are about to get their wish. Enjoy!**

It was early afternoon and Team JNPR was waiting at the Vale airship station, looking for a familiar, red-clad form. Nora was bouncing up and down, unable to contain her glee. Jaune was smiling eagerly, his muscles tense with the feeling that only comes with missing someone you love dearly. Pyrrha was resisting the urge to pace back and forth. Ren's magenta gaze intently scanned the people approaching the station.

Finally, their patience was rewarded with a cry of "Hey, guys!" and a blur of red rushing right into the midst of them. Ruby smiled up at each of them in turn. "I'm back!"

Immediately, Jaune lifted Ruby up, hugging her tightly and pressing a kiss to her lips. He smiled as she hummed appreciatively and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

Nora stomped her foot. "Jaune! Don't hog her!"

Pyrrha laughed, gently cuffing Nora's head. "Now, Nora. We'll all get a turn. Ruby literally just got here."

Once Jaune put Ruby down, she wasted no time in pulling Nora close and sharing a heated kiss. Nora giggled and touched a few extra kisses to the side of her neck.

Pyrrha was next, pulling Ruby close and wrapping her arms snugly around her. "We missed you, Ruby," she murmured.

"I can tell!" Ruby laughed, snuggling happily against Pyrrha's front. "I missed you all too." She then moved away from Pyrrha, so she could hug Ren. "Hi, Ren!"

"Hello, Ruby." Ren gently hugged Ruby, frowning when he felt some tension in her shoulders. "Rough mission?"

Ruby let out a long noise that was half groan, half sigh. "Ugh. I was sure it would only be a week, but noooo! It had to be almost a month! Why can't Grimm take days off sometimes?"

"How many did you kill?" Nora asked.

"I stopped counting," Ruby murmured, shaking her head. "That should tell you how many there were."

Jaune ruffled her hair. "Well, don't think about it now. You're spending the night with us, and we're gonna spoil you. Got it?"

Ruby smiled up at him. "I think I can handle that." She looked at Pyrrha. "You mentioned a surprise in your text. What is it?"

Pyrrha winked. "You'll see when we get to the house."

The airship ride was quiet. Ruby half dozed through most of it, slumped against Pyrrha's side and smiling when the taller girl would comb her fingers through her short hair. Nora was snuggled into Ruby's other side.

When they got to the house, they paused in the living room. "So, bedroom or couch?" Jaune asked. Though Ruby had definitely enjoyed sharing the bed with the rest of Team JNPR after she joined their relationship during her last visit, Jaune still felt that it was important to let her know that she could still have her space if she needed it.

"Bed," Ruby replied. "I can move to the couch if it gets too warm." She hugged Jaune's arm. "Besides, I missed cuddling with you guys. It's just not the same with the others."

"Speaking of the others," Pyrrha said. "How are things? Were you able to talk more?"

Ruby's last visit at the JNPR household had largely been a result of her feeling neglected by the rest of her team, which had grown distant over the past few months. When Yang, Weiss, and Blake had arrived at the house looking for her, however, things had started looking up.

Ruby nodded. "Yeah. That's actually why I didn't come over sooner. We got back three days ago, and we took a day afterward to just hang out. It was nice really getting caught up with everyone." She smiled. "Weiss and Blake are really doing a lot, and Yang has promised to be more careful when partying. I think she's actually going to start helping Blake with her protests."

"That's good to hear." Jaune nodded. "I knew you guys just had to talk things out."

"So," Ruby continued, looking around eagerly. "What's the surprise?"

Nora giggled. "It's in the back. Look out that window."

Ruby obeyed, and let out a gasp. Sitting outside was what looked like a mini overground pool. A cover was over it, and steam was coming out from around the edges "You finished the hot tub!"

Jaune grinned brightly. "We tested it out a few days ago, and it's perfect. Just the thing for after a hunt."

Ruby nodded, frowning a little as she realized something. "I don't have a swimsuit, though…"

"We got you one!" Nora chirped. "You and I are basically the same size, so it was pretty easy."

"Oh, you guys didn't have to!"

"We did say we'd be spoiling you," Ren pointed out. "Would you like to go in before or after dinner?"

"Hm. If I go in after dinner, I'll probably fall asleep in like five minutes," Ruby reasoned. "So, let's put my bags in the room and go in now!"

Ruby changed into her new swimsuit in the bathroom while the others changed in the bedroom. Though she was incredibly comfortable with her new boyfriends and girlfriends, she wasn't quite ready for _that_ level of casual. She took a moment to admire the swimsuit that the others had picked out. It was a red one-piece with a pattern of leaves and pink roses around the top.

Once it was on, she gave herself a critical look in the mirror. She had never liked swimsuits. They were up there with heels on her list of things she didn't like wearing, mainly because she didn't like feeling exposed, or having people looking at her. _It's just us,_ she reminded herself. _It's not like I'm being dragged to a public pool._

When she rejoined the others in the bedroom, she couldn't help but avert her eyes, face turning bright red as she caught a glimpse of the four of them in their swimsuits. The suits themselves were pretty plain. Jaune and Ren both wore black trunks. Pyrrha's was red with gold flowers, while Nora's was a bright pink two-piece.

But sweet Dust, they looked good! They all had definite Huntsmen physiques: lean muscles, hard abs, perfect forms. _Omigosh, stop thinking about it!_

Nora, of course, noticed Ruby's reaction and burst out laughing. "Aw, Ruby! You're even more flustered than Ren gets!"

Ren huffed, his own cheeks turning pink. "I don't get flustered."

"Oh yeah?" Nora smirked, running a finger lightly across her boyfriend's abdomen.

Ren's face flushed darker and he barely suppressed an undignified squeak as he moved to hide behind Pyrrha.

Pyrrha chuckled, patting Ren's head lightly. "Nora, stop teasing them." She smiled at Ruby. "I knew that would look good on you! Let's go."

Once they were actually in the hot tub, Ruby felt significantly more capable of looking at her boyfriends and girlfriends directly. She ended up sitting between Ren and Jaune. The warm water, which came up to her shoulders when she sat down, seemed to seep into her aching muscles and tired bones, soothing a month's worth of hunting in mere seconds. With each breath of steamy air, she felt herself slumping lazily against the back wall, eyes drooping.

Ren nudged her shoulder. "Here. Turn around so your back is facing me?"

Ruby complied, thankful that the benches in the tub were wide enough. She felt Ren's hands on her back. Then, his fingers started carefully kneading at her muscles, causing her shoulders to relax and a blissful sigh to leave her lips.

Jaune scooted closer, propping Ruby's feet on his lap and starting to massage them under the water. He smiled when this caused Ruby to completely melt back against Ren. "It's okay if you fall asleep," he assured her. "We got you."

Ruby shook her head, even as she yawned. "No… Wanna stay awake…" She moaned quietly when Ren found a particularly tense spot in the middle of her back and started working on it with the pads of his fingers.

Nora, meanwhile, had crawled into Pyrrha's lap and was unabashedly kissing every bit of skin she could find above the cloth of her girlfriend's swimsuit. She felt Pyrrha's arms tighten around her and smirked, nipping at her ear.

Pyrrha blushed. "Careful, Nora," she muttered. "Remember what happened last time."

Ruby opened one eye. "Do I even want to know?"

"No," Ren muttered flatly. "You really don't."

"Nora's Semblance can sometimes activate when she's…excited," Jaune explained. "Inside, where it's dry, it makes things interesting. In a hot tub…" He trailed off.

Ruby winced, glancing sympathetically at the others. "Who got zapped?"

"Who do you think?" Ren grumbled.

"Love you, Ren!" Nora called over, batting her eyelashes at him.

Ren rolled his eyes. "I love you too. You're still a health hazard."

Nora stuck out her tongue. "Oh, stop it. I make things fun."

"You certainly do," Pyrrha assured her, kissing her cheek.

Ruby snickered before closing her eyes and allowing herself to relax once again. "So, what else is new?"

"Well, we were thinking about making some additions to the house," Ren said as he brought his hands back up to Ruby's shoulders.

"Yeah? Like what?"

"We'd like to make a porch and patio out here that leads to the hot tub," Pyrrha said. "When the weather's nice, it'd be a good place to eat lunch."

"Wouldn't the Grimm destroy it?" Ruby asked. "Actually, why haven't they done anything to the hot tub?"

Nora grinned proudly. "We've got 'em good and scared. You know how Professor Oobleck always talked about how Grimm learn? Well, the ones around here have finally learned to stay far away from this house!"

"We're also looking at an extra bedroom or two," Jaune continued. "For any visitors."

"And any additions to the family," Pyrrha added.

Ruby sat up, gaping at Pyrrha. "Additions?! Are you…?" She looked from Pyrrha to Nora and back again, eyes wide.

Nora burst out laughing. "Omigosh, no! Not now! We would've told you, like, immediately if we were!" She shook her head, snorting a little. "Your face is amazing."

"We have been thinking about it, though," Ren said honestly. "It wouldn't be for a while, of course. It might not happen for over a year, even."

Pyrrha smiled gently. "Don't worry, Ruby. Since you're part of this relationship now, we'd talk to you first."

Ruby leaned back against Ren, her heart rate returning to normal. "I mean, you guys would be awesome parents. And I'd be an awesome…" She paused, tilting her head. "What would your kid even call me?"

"We can think about that when the time comes," Jaune said. "Like we said, this is just a speculation for the distant future."

"I'd like to expand the garden after this next winter," Ren continued, running his hands over Ruby's back once more to search for any spots he had missed. "I'd like to grow some vegetables, and maybe a few herbs."

"So, what I'm hearing is that your pasta sauce is going to become even more homemade?" Ruby smiled at the thought.

Nora nodded. "Yeah! Now, all we gotta do is find some sugar maple trees to make homemade syrup."

"There aren't any sugar maples in these woods, Nora," Ren said.

"There could be! I put a bunch of tappers out in the winter."

"You tapped regular maple trees."

"Well, I had to check!"

"We _told_ you they were regular maple trees."

Ruby sat up and leaned over to kiss Ren's cheek, then scooted next to Jaune to kiss him. "Thanks for the double massage!"

"No problem," Jaune replied. "Feeling better?"

Ruby nodded. "Much better!" She let out another yawn. "And I'm not falling asleep," she added, rubbing her eyes.

Jaune exchanged a glance with Ren, then pulled Ruby into his lap. "Well, if you don't want to fall asleep, I guess we should try to keep you awake." He pressed a kiss to the side of Ruby's neck while hugging her against his chest.

Ruby let out a squeak of surprise, but recovered quickly, tilting her head back to give Jaune better access. She wasn't sure if the rising heat in her cheeks was due more to her current position, or due to the steam. She tangled her fingers through Jaune's wet, choppy hair, tugging shyly at it. When Jaune responded with a light nip beneath her ear, she shivered.

Ren moved over so that he was next to Jaune, watching the two for a moment before drawing Ruby into his own lap and kissing her lips softly.

Ruby sighed as the happy energy of Jaune's kiss was suddenly replaced with the calm, gentle affection of Ren. She returned his kiss, moving her lips slowly against his and placing a hand on his chest to feel his slightly-elevated heartbeat.

Waves in the water signaled the movement of Pyrrha and Nora. The two sat down next to Ren, Nora holding out her arms to Ruby. Despite Nora's size, she was easily able to position Ruby on her lap, and her head was in a perfect spot to leave some hot, breathy kisses on her girlfriend's collarbone.

This, of course, elicited a series of adorable noises from Ruby, who kissed the top of Nora's head and tried hiding her blushing face in her girlfriend's ginger hair.

Finally, Ruby was transferred to Pyrrha's lap. Pyrrha kissed her forehead before claiming her lips in a warm, passionate kiss. She ran her hands up and down Ruby's back, drawing her small girlfriend close in a protective gesture.

Ruby hummed as she shifted closer. Somehow, being in Pyrrha's arms made her feel even warmer than the hot tub was already making her. When the kiss ended, she found herself yawning and snuggling against Pyrrha's front.

Jaune and Nora, meanwhile, had decided to tag-team Ren. Jaune captured his boyfriend's lips in a kiss while Nora stroked his abs and nipped playfully at his shoulder. Ren groaned, his face already redder than Ruby's in that moment. He kissed Jaune for a few more seconds, then turned to Nora, pulling her into his lap and pressing his lips to hers.

He couldn't help but smirk a little when Nora immediately moaned and melted against him. The others liked to tease him for getting easily flustered, but no one could fluster Nora the way he could. Even after over four years, he felt a certain sense of satisfaction whenever he managed to make her knees weak with a perfectly-timed kiss, or cause her to stammer incoherently by whispering something unexpected into her ear while they were out walking.

Jaune started kissing and nuzzling Ren's back, causing the smaller boy to smile even more into his kiss with Nora. He opened one eye, glancing at Pyrrha, who was still holding a half-asleep Ruby. It was moments like this when he just couldn't believe how lucky he was.

Eventually, Pyrrha roused the others. "I think we should shower and dry off before some of us fall asleep completely."

The five went inside, where Ruby was given first use of the shower, which allowed her to nap on the couch while the others took their turns. At some point, Nora came to the couch and snuggled against Ruby's chest.

Ruby woke up two hours later, feeling truly refreshed for the first time in a month. She smiled when Nora shifted in her arms and looked up at her. "Hi." She kissed Nora's forehead.

Then, a familiar smell caused her to sit up. It was wafting from the kitchen and making her mouth water.

Nora grinned as she sat up. "Ren baked cookies while you were sleeping." When Ruby moved to get up, she added. "They're not cool yet. Ren'll yell at you if you try eating them now."

Ruby pouted, but sat down again. "I can handle it."

Nora rolled her eyes. "Well, duh, but you know how he is. 'You'll burn your tongue, Nora!' 'Melted butter isn't worth it, Nora.' 'Don't drink hot caramel right out of the pot, Nora!'"

Ruby raised an eyebrow. "Isn't caramel basically volcanic when it's still hot?"

"Hey, we've got Aura! We can take it!"

"Just because you can, doesn't mean you should," Ren said, peeking his head out of the kitchen. "And the cookies are ready."

Ruby immediately zipped over, stopping long enough to kiss Ren before attacking the plate of cookies on the table. They were chocolate chip, of course, and were warm, chewy, and full of melted chips. Ruby's eyes rolled back blissfully as she ate.

Jaune and Pyrrha came from the bedroom and followed Nora into the kitchen, smiling when they saw their newest girlfriend eagerly scarfing the cookies.

Once Ruby had eaten ten of them, she slowed down enough to talk. "These are awesome, Ren! Have I mentioned that I love you? Because I totally do!"

Ren smiled. "I'm glad you like them." He resisted the urge to tell Ruby to exercise some control. _She just got back from her hunt. She can overeat cookies this time. We have pills for upset stomachs in the bathroom…_

"Don't eat those all at once," Jaune warned. "We were thinking of having a movie and popcorn night, and Ren still hasn't made dinner."

Ruby shrugged. "I can still eat dinner and popcorn. Cookies go in the cookie stomach. That's different from the regular stomach."

Jaune and Pyrrha exchanged a look. "That would certainly explain a lot," Pyrrha murmured.

Nora was nodding. "Yeah! Ruby gets it. I just have a pancake stomach instead of a cookie stomach."

"You still need to control yourself, Nora," Ren said.

"Nuh uh!"

Throughout the rest of the night, the five ate, talked, and shared several kisses between each other. By the time midnight rolled around, they were all fast asleep in front of the television. Ruby was curled up between Jaune and Nora, while Ren lay at Nora's feet and Pyrrha was snuggled against Jaune's other side. Ruby's eyes were closed, her sleep was deep, and her dreams were pleasant for the first time in a month. All five were smiling contentedly, happy that everyone was finally together again.

 **This AU is so freaking cute. It also causes me to realize something: Ruby and the remainder of Team JNPR have been traveling together for almost a year in canon, and we still have almost no idea on what the dynamic is between the characters! Seriously, besides Ren and Nora's friendship/eventual romance, and knowledge we have from previous scenes with Jaune and Ruby, we got nothing! Step it up, Rooster Teeth! Do I need to come down to Texas and start writing the script for you?**

 **Anyway, if you like what you see and want to show some extra support, my P/atreon is Solora Goldsun. Patrons get early updates, requests, and even discounts on commissions.**

 **Peace out!**


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